Angelina Holds Nothing Back

The notoriously wild actress has survived the Hollywood rumor mill and managed to come out on top. Listen in as she opens up to us about what really happened with Billy Bob, how she got that killer bod, and why she's planning to lighten up in the future.

Angelina:It goes deeper into the Lara Croft character, and she's challenged a bit more. Since it's a sequel, we don't have to explain things so we can get into the movie quicker, which is good.

C: Lara Croft is such a butt-kicking babe. Were you pshyced to play her again?

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A: Putting the guns and boots back on was actually nice. I realized I had missed it—it had been two years. I went back to England [to start filming]and I was separating [from Billy Bob], and there was a note wating from me from the crew that read "Welcome Home Lara." It was really sweet.

C: Was it tough getting back into shape?

A: Yes, but it was also a relief with all that stuff going on in my life. It was nice to get really physical. And it was different this time. Last time, we did a bunch of the diets—protein bars, powders, and things like that—and that made me curvier. This time, I just ate normal…we had eggs and bacon in the moring. Real food, I've found, is actually better than dieting .

C: DO you ever get freaked out about stunts?

A: I don't, and I think that's a fault of mine because I should be a little more cautious. I tend to forget that in the moment because I enjoy the adrenaline rush. One or two more Tomb Raiders and I might be in trouble. My ankle went out in the last one, and my elbow in this one. I'm cracking and breaking things as I go.

C: How do you pick projects?

A:The character needs to be beyond me, whether it's someone who's physically more advanced or wise or someone whose heart is in a place that I don't understand. I need to learning and not regressing as a person.

C: You don't seem to dwell on the past. True?

A: It's a survival thing. I just move forward. It's hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I've learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place.

C: Are you officially divorced now?

A: Yes. Officially.

C: Do you think you'll ever marry again?

A: I highly doubt it. Highly.

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C: What have you learned about love?

A: I've learned that we all change constantly. It's rare to find that person who is growing with you in the same way at the same time, who encourages you to grow.

C: Do you regert getting a certain tattoo?

A: God bless lasers.

C: Are you more emotionally guarded these days?

A: I'm more cautious about giving myself away as a woman. But I think now I'm more open and free emotionally and I laugh more, but the side of me that's a woman in relationships is closed down.

C: Do you think people fall out of love?

A: In my case, I think I grew up. I grew in a different direction, and I don't know if there is one person who has the answer to everything—a soul mate. I don't believe in that. I a beginning to think I am really supposed to be alone that's okay.

C: But you're not alone—you have Maddox. What made you decide to adopt?

A: Since I can remember, I wanted to adopt. Some little girls dream about having a baby, but when I was really young and I heard about what an orphan was, I couldn't wait to find my family across the world and bring us all together and make a home. I don't know where that comes from, but it was just natural to me.

C: Is it difficult to be a single mom?

A: Yes. But I know how fortunate I am with all that I have. I think about mothers who can't insist on taking their child to work and have lunch with him and aren't able to travel in first class. I know it may sound slly, but I'm very aware of how fortunate I am at least to have the luxuries around me to cushion being a single parent.

C: Has Maddox changed your life?

A: He's the most important thing in my life. Before Maddox when things would go bad, I had a tendency to be depressed or self-destructive or lost, and I can't afford to be any of that now. I have to be clear and focused and fine all the time. So he has given me strength. I've never known this kind of relationship or love before.

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C: Where is home these days?

A: I have a home in England, and we're about to go to Cambodia to check on our house there. It's important to me that Maddox knows whwere he's from. I also have a place in New York Ciry, but I haven't been there since before I met Billy.

C: You have a crazy life traveling the world and working on different movie sets. How does Maddox handle that?

A: His life isn't normal, but there are special things about his life. He will have more normalcy when he start school. I will have to say in one place more. He will live at our home in Cambodia. Our house there is in the jungle, and there are elephants and tigers. There is something wonderful and unusual about his life.

C: What's your role as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and how did it come about?

A: About two years ago I read about the UN and was shocked to learn that there was are 20 million refugees in the world. So I met with UN representatives and took my exploration to Cambodia. I kept a journal there and in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and on other trips, and the UN asked me to be an ambassador. SO I'm having my journals published [available in bookstores this fall]. I want to support and bring attention to people who are trying to survive.

C: When you won an Oscar, rumors swirled about you and your brother and the kiss you shared. You said that the two of you disconnected because of the roomers. So you still talk?

A: Oh, yeah, we never lost our bond. We just weren't in public together so we didn't give anybody ammunition for more silly gossip. It was more about our being cautious.

C: Do mean and false stories upset you?

A: The only thing that has mattered to me involved Maddox. People wonder aloud about whether I am an okay mother. That is obviously painful because it's so important to me. It's hard to hear that people think I'm not a capable mother and a good person, that they just think I'm nuts.

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C: In the past, you've been very vocal about your relationships and behavior—taking knives to bed—and all these sordid stories that played out in the press. Do you feel the need to tone that down now?

A: I have collected knives since I was a child, antique weapons from all over the world now they are out of reach at home, but they're not gone. And yes, when I was 14, I cut myself and went through that phase, and I haven't revisited that phase and I'm not going to, especially now that I have Maddox. I love him, and I would never let anything happen to him.

When you were 14, you also lived with a boyfriend at home. Do you feel like you grew up too fast?

A: My mother is so caring and nurturing, and the choices she made for me were not irresponsible. When I was 14, I was either going to be reckless on the streets with my boyfriend or he was going to be with me in my bedroom with my mom in the next room because I was going to have a boyfriend. She made the choice, and because of it, I continued to go to school every morning and explored my first relationship in a safe way. So in some strange way, she really did the right thing. It kept me out of trouble.

C: You've always made a point of being brutally honest. Is there ever a situation in which you would lie?

A: No. I have actually been having trouble figuring out how I am going to tell Maddox about Santa Clause, because I don't want to tell him he exists when he doesn't. I don't know about the Easter Bunny either. Maybe I'll have to lighten up.

C: What's the most valuable piece of advice you would give to women?

A: Figure out who you are separate from your family and the man or woman you're in a relationship with. Find who you are in this world and what you need to feel good alone. I think that's the most important thing in life. Find a sense of self because with that, you can do anything else.

C: Did you need to go through wild times and the divorce to find the happiness you have now?